Bag closer



I5 Sheets-Sheet BAG CLOSER l. T. ENGLISH original Filed Jan. 12, 1921 5 2 9 ,l Au 2. h m

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March 24, 1925.

l. .T. ENGLISH BAG CLOSER original Filed Jan'. 12, 1921.

3 She'ets-Shet 2 March 24, 1925. vRe. 16,027

l. T. ENGLISH BAG CLOSER y original Filed Jan. 12, 1921 s sheets-sheet f l L? A* ik?, f La 4* 4f g Ressued Mar. 24, 1925.

A UNITED STATES A Re. .16,027 PATENT OFFICE.

IRA. T. ENGLISH, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO UNION SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION O ILLINOIS.

' BAG CLOSER.

Original No. 1,475,759, dated November 27, 1923, Serial No. 436,730, filed January 12, 1921. Application v for reissue filed March 13, 1924. Serial No. 699,071.

T o all whom t 'may con-cern:

Be it known that I, IRA T. ENGLISH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the. county of Multnomah and State of Ore on, have invented certain new and usefulI mprovements in Bag Closers, of which the following is a description, reference being hadV to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon. l

This invention relates more particularly to devices for closing cloth bags after theyy have been lled.

The object of my invention is to minimize the amount of labor entailed in the "packing, weighing and closing of bags.

I attain these results inthe manner described in the following specificationand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in' which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device,

scale 6 where it is accurately weighed and additional material added from the box 7 if required.

At the present time a sewing machine head 8 is commonly employed in the yart. This head has a horizontal needle held at a height which will correspond witlrthe height of the sack 5. At the present time this head is held Stationary and the sack 5 is usually fed toward sameion a traveling belt orconveyor. One operator of the sewing machine thereby closes sacks for a. number of different packers, in which method many difficulties are encountered. In order to avoid these difficulties I have constructed my machine a`S follows- On the horizontal base 9 I have erected a pair of vertical standards 10 which act as guides for a platform 11 upon which a weighing scale 6 is placed so that a bag while resting on said scale may be closed. Said platform is made vertically adjustable by means of the holes 12 in the standards 10 and the slide 13 of the scale platform 11. Bridging across the horizontal portions 14 of the vstandards 10 is the channel iron track 15 njoined to said horizontal members by means of the short angle irons 16. yUpon the bottom of the channel track 15 is secured a strip of wood or metal. 16A upon which is secured a rack 17 by means of the bolts 18V which pass through the bottom of the channel 15. A horizontally inoving carrier or carriage member 19 carrying the rollers 2O which engage the sides of the channel track 15 is supplied with an apron 21 to which is Secured the sewing head 8. It will be seen that the sewing head is now movable in a direction at right angles to the needle and in a straight line back and forth over the platform of the weighing Scale.

On the rearward end of the carriage member 19 I have mounted a motor 22 equipped with a pulley 23. On the forward end of the member 19 I have erected the standards 24 and 25 which support the horizontal shaft 26 upon which is mounted a kstep pulley 27 over which is passed a round belt 28 which passes around/the .idler wheels 29 on the standards 30 which are secured to the meniber 19 and then around the pulley 31 of the sewing head S. Near the opposite end of the shaft 26 I have placed a clutch pulley 32 which is slidably mounted on the shaft and driven by the belt 33 from the pulley 23 of the motor 22. A bracket 34 supports the shouldered end 35 of the shaft 261 land is Asupported by the member 25.l

A clutch cone 36 is slidably mounted on the shaft 26 and is Secured against rotation by the Spline 37. The clutch conel 36 is adapted to engage the interior face of the pulley 32 and is held' out of engagement with same by means of the spring 38. A groove 39 formed in the hub 40 f the mein- 4ber 36 engages the pins 41 in ne lever 42 which iS mounted on the shaft 43 in the brackets 44- which are secured'to the side ofthe member 25. A forked lever 45 is also attached to the shaft 43 and engages the pins 46 projecting from the collar v47.

The collar 4T is secured to a vertically movable shaft 48 also carrying the forked lil() icollar engages similar teeth on the under side of a hub of a worm wheel 53. This worin wheel 'and clutch collarA are iiiounted on a vertical shaft 51 whose upper end joui'- nals in the bearing 55` projecting from the member 25. The lower end of the shaft 54 is supported by the member 19 beneathV wliichit carries a pinion 56 which meshes with the rack 17. The clutch collar 52Vis slidably mounted on the shaft 54 and splined thereon. y

The shaft 4S guides at its upper end in the member 25 and near its middle in the member 19. A T-shaped member 57 is secured to the lower end of the shaft 48 and is adapted to slide loosely upon the horizontal rod 58 supported at its outer ends in the T-shaped members 59 which are carried on the upper ends of the rods 60. These rods are joined at their lower end G1 to a foot treadle 62 having its fulcrum 63 near its center.

The operation' of my device is as follows -After the sack 5 has been brought to almost the correct weight by the packer it is placed upon the scale -6 where it is brought up to requirements in weight, as before exlained. The operator, or packer as he is linown in the art, now places an empty sack ,under his packing machine and turns his attention to the sack which is ready for sewing. Vith his hands he brings the mouth of the sack 5 between the presser foot of the Lfeed plates of the sewing head in the usual manner and then by depressing the treadle 62 with his foot he raises the shaft 48 and thereby throws the cone 36'into engagement with its pulley 32 which now rotates the shaft '26, which in turn drives the needle.

At the same time the clutch collar 52 is brought into engagement with the worm wheel 53, and the pinion 5G is thereby caused to rotate and propel the carriage 19 along on its track 15 at the correct sewing speed.

WWhen itis desired, to temporarily sew sacks-which are to be again opened before being shipped it is only necessary to reverse the step pulley 27 and use a shorter belt which will produce a longer stitch than secured by the use of the large pulley.

- Onl yone clutch mechanism would be require were it not for the fact that the needle should be Working before the feeding action is begun, the object being to sew a short chain of stitches at both ends of the seam, which acts as a lock for the closing seam and prevents unraveling. Itis preferable to sew about one inch of this chain of stitches before and after the needle enters and leaves the cloth. When using this machine the head is moved up to the sack and the needle is operated a number of times before the feeding operation takes place. On

tained, but I have illustrated this particularid form as best illustrating the invention set forth in the claims following, in which- I claim:

l. In a carriage for traveling sewing heads, the combination of a track, a carriage mounted on said track, a motor mounted on said carriage, a main shaft driven by said motor and mounted transversely on said carriage, a clutch interposed between said main shaft and motor, a reduction gear driven from said main shaft and mounted on a vertical shaft, a pinion secured tothe lower end of said vertical shaft, a rack secured to said track and meshing with said pinion, a clutch interposed between said driving shaft and said pinion, and a foot treadle means ar- -ranged to actuate both clutches almost si-` multaneously, said main shaft clutch coming into engagement slightly before the feed op` erating clutch. y

2. In a machine for sewing sacks, the. combination of a sewing head having a horizontal needlewith a supporting frame secured to said head and provided with grooved wheels, a channel iron whose side members form tracks for said wheel, side supports for said channel iron, a horizontal main shaft carried by said frame transversely to said track, a motor on said frame adapted to rotate said main shaft, a friction clutch between said inotoiand shaft, a pulley secured oii said iiiain shaft and arranged to drive said sewing head, a vertical shaft bearing in said fraaie, a worin on said main shaft `driving a worin wheel on said vertical shaft, a claw clutch on said vertical shaft adapted to lock said worm wheel to said vertical shaft, a pinion on said vertical shafton the under side of said frame, a rack on said channel iron between the tracks adapted 'to mesh with said pinion, and a treadle mechanism adapted to actuate said friction and claw clutches.

3. A filled bag sewing machine including in combination asupporting frame, a track carried by said frame, a carriage mounted on said track and movable back and forth in a straight line over a filled bag supported beneath the same, a sewing head mounted on said carriage'and depending therefrom in front of said track for stitching the mouth carriage, and means on said carriage and operated by the motor for actuating the sewing head and for moving the carriage positively during the stitching of the filled bag.

4. A filled bag sewing machine including in combination, a supporting frame, a track carried by said frame, a carriage mounted on said track and movable back and forth in a straight line over a filled bag supported beneath the same, asewing head mounted on said carriage and depending therefrom in .Y sewing front of said track for stitching the mouth of said bag, a motor mounted on said carriage over said track and traveling with said carriage, and means on said carriage `and operated by the motor for` actuating the sewing head and for moving the carriage positively during the stitching of the filled bag, a treadle, and devices actuated by said treadle for connecting the motor to the actuating means for moving the carriage and to the actuating means for operating the head. l

filled bag sewing machine including in combination, a supporting frame, a track carried by said frame, a carriage mounted on said track and movable back andfor'th in astraight line over a filled bag supported beneath the same, a sewing head mounted on said carriage and depending therefrom in front cf said track for stitching the mouth of said bag, a motor mounted on said carriage over said track and traveling with said carriage, and means on said carriage and operated by the motor for actuating the sewing head and for moving the carriage positively bag, a treadle, and devices actuated' by said treadle for connecting the motor to the actuating means for moving the carriage and to the actuating means for operating the sewing head, and means for disconnecting the motor from the sewing head actuating means and the carriage actuating means lwhen said treadle is released.

6. A filled bag sewing machine including in combination, spacedi'standards, a track carried b said standards,` a carriage mounted on sai track and movable back and forth in a straight line over a filled bag supported beneath the same, a sewing head mounted on said carriage and depending therefrom in front of said track for stitching the mouth of the bag, a motor mounted on said carriage over said track and traveling therewith,` means mounted on the carriage and during the stitching of the filled` operated by the motor .for actuating the sewing head and for moving the cari-lage positively during the stitching of the filled bag, a. treadle, devices actuated by said treadlefor yconnecting the .motor to the actuating means for moving the carriage and to the actuating means for operating the sewing head, and means for disconnecting the motor from the sewing head actuating means and the carriage actuating means when said treadle is released, said treadle controlling means being so constructed that the treadle may be actuated for connecting or disconnecting the motor from the part actuated thereby at any point in the travel of thecarriage. f

7 A filled bag sewing machine including in combination, spaced supporting standards, a track carried by said standards, a carnage mounted on said track and movable back and forth ina straight line over a filled bag supported beneath-the carriage, a sewing head mounted on said carriage and depending therefrom in front of said track for stitchin the mouth of the bag, a motor mounte on said carriage over said track, a transverse shaft on said carriage adapted to be operated'by said motor, actuating devices adapted to be connected to said transverse shaft for operating the sewing head, actuating devices adapted to be operated by said transverse shaft for moving the carriage in a forward direction, a treadle,-and means controlled thereby for connecting said transverse shaft to the sewing head and connecting said transverse shaft to the carriage ac- .stitching the mouth of the bag, a motor mounted on said carriage, atransverse shaft on sald carrlage adapted to be operated .by

said motor, actuating devices adapted to be connected to said transverse shaft for operating the sewing head, actuating devices adapted to be operated by said transverse shaft for moving the carriage, said lastnamed actuating devices including reduction gearing whereby said carriage is adapted to travel 1n proper timing for stitching.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.'

IRA T. ENGLISH. 

